Trump may threaten to reveal state secrets to manipulate legal proceedings if he's indicted: reporte

[Novara]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Raw Story

Former President Donald Trump appears to have a weak defense if he's prosecuted for taking classified documents to Mar-A-Lago, but he may be able to hold the court hostage by threatening to reveal some of that top-secret information.

The FBI found boxes of highly sensitive materials in Trump's office and other areas of his private resort, and his attorneys have asked for them back, or at least an inventory of what was taken -- which NBC News reporter Marc Caputo told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" signaled his possible strategy.

"I'm being led to believe it's not detailed, it's not the stuff we'll want to see," Caputo said. "We'll want to see, like, okay, which foreign leaders potentially were in these classified documents he allegedly had or whatever. However, it's going to be more detailed. How much? We have no clue. The judge yesterday said she would start to unseal it after the court hearing, today is technically after the court hearing -- we'll see."

"I think a broader issue here is what you're also going to see in cases, again, if there's a prosecution, of something called graymail, which is where a defendant in a case where there's classified information tries to push the release of that classified information, knowing the government doesn't want it released," Caputo continued, "and that can sort of psych the government out of wanting to release that highly classified or sensitive information. Now there is a Classified Information Procedures Act, which allows for the courts to kind of go through and handle these issues and release redacted information. But the fact of the matter is we've never had a former president and future presidential candidate, likely future presidential candidate, on trial, especially over stuff like this regarding issues related to his presidency or his past presidency, so, we're, as I said, we're in uncharted waters."

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-graymail/

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Because this will surely help his legal case.

What a fucking moron.

The U.S. doesn't negotiate with terrorists, motherfucker.

[Ocelot II]

1. Which, unfortunately for him, would operate as a confession that he took and kept them.

I'm not sure he's smart enough, or paid enough attention during PDBs, to know which of the documents would be valuable, or to whom. And since he doesn't get briefings any more he wouldn't have any way of knowing if the information was still current. But I wouldn't put it past him to pull a stunt like that.

[Novara]

7. He would destroy America to protect himself

He has no scruples. At all. He would destroy America, destroy other countries' relationships with us, and burn down everything if he thinks it would protect him. Or just plain for revenge if he feels threatened. This is a person who has ALWAYS gotten what he wanted, has ALWAYS been able to skirt the law. The fist time he is criminally prosecuted - and for something as serious as treason - will unleash a reaction so extreme I don't think anybody could predict it. And way too much is at stake.

He needs to be arrested, jailed, and muzzled NOW.

If he is threatening to blow top secret information, he needs to be stopped NOW. Politics be damned. He is the biggest threat this country has ever seen.

How does this country deal with traitors who are threatening to blab top secret information? We don't let them walk free, for fuck's sake.

[Justice matters.]

16. He needs to be arrested, jailed, and muzzled NOW.

And put in complete isolation with no contacts with anyone outside.

[mitch96]

18. "threatening to reveal some of that top-secret information. " Would he then "fall out of a window"?

[CrispyQ]

39. "He needs to be arrested, jailed, and muzzled NOW."

I don't understand why he isn't? What are we waiting for? The special master issue to be resolved? The election? The media to tell us it's okay? I can't imagine any other person being treated with such caution. Our allies are watching how we handle this & the longer we let him walk free & threaten to release info that might compromise them, too, the more respect we lose. If we're waiting for after the election to do anything about him, we'll probably lose the House & there goes the J6 committee & hello impeach Biden hearings.

Today would be an excellent day to arrest him, going into a three-day weekend. It's time to cut the head off the snake.

[Escurumbele]

41. Has there ever been any doubt about that? He will destroy the planet to save his butt.

He is a total imbecile who doesn't understand the concept of consequences, it is the criminal mind at work, they only see the end of the goal but miss all the consequences of their actions, even those that hurt them personally.

[ChazInAz]

44. Since he's such a fan of totalitarian regimes

It would be fitting if he just ..."Disappeared" like Jimmy Hoffa.

[Cracklin Charlie]

2. Just incarcerate him.

Solitary confinement.

[2naSalit]

8. +1

[ancianita]

43. +1

The courts should give him fair warning that threatening any court eliminates his due process rights.

[halobeam]

53. but why warn him of that? I thought ignorance of the law doesn't mean you aren't guilty..

Afaic, he lost his due process rights. just from that alone.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Commit more crimes to protect you from crimes already committed

Damaging to national security or not, we'd be better off to assume it's all compromised and let him twist

[ColinC]

4. fuck around and find out is literally this guy's MO

Try it MOFO and see what happens.

[Obvious85]

5. Well we just throw him in prison then so he can't communicate

and hopefully execute him, after his trial of course.

[2naSalit]

9. +1

[Rebl2]

14. Agree for

the most part. Don’t want him executed though. Want him to sit in prison and be miserable the rest of his life, and only allowed certain visitors-actually would prefer none.

[mitch96]

20. Gitmo? nt

[Rebl2]

23. OK with me

[Traildogbob]

36. Only allow Melania to visit

She would run like hell and never see his fat mug again, and finally crack a smile with that plastic Evil face of hers.

[agingdem]

6. Trump thinks he can blackmail Garland

if Trump attempts to reveal state secrets, Garland and the DOJ will come down hard on Trump's fat ass...and it's game over for Trump

[Novara]

60. Garland has used every stupid move by this motherfucker to dig his grave deeper.

I'm not sure the orange fuck wants to fuck around and find out.

Say Garland arrests him. We know the maggots will scream bloody murder (we're being held hostage by them currently anyway). So what? There is no defense for him threatening to blow classified information - not only of our country, but of other countries as well. This would be a massive international incident. There should be no caution applied here. It isn't just our national security at risk.

[getagrip_already]

10. the government doesn't need to rely on the classification of the documents.....

Just that documents were taken, not returned, and obstruction ensued.

They can do that with one or two low level docs. They don't even have to mention the most highly classified materials by name.

Tfg could, and likely would, be gagged from disclosing natsec secrets.

But it would be hard to do if all the material gets shielded by executive privilege.

[Justice matters.]

21. There is no Executive Privilege for former presidents...

Unless the current supremely corrupt 6 occupying the USSC overturn their previous ruling that only the current POTUS in charge possess that privilege.

[getagrip_already]

22. and this judge is the first step....++

If you look at transcripts available (not sure if they are reporter transcripts or court transcripts), the judge herself sked (suggesting it) if EP could also be evealuated by a special master, in which case tfg's lawyers agreed they could. Tfg's lawyer never raised EP as something a master could evaluate; the judge brought it up.

That is a clear indication she has a predetermined judgement and needed it to be entered into the record so she could address it in her rulings.

She knows anything she rules will be appealed. But the longer she drags this out the longer the doj is held off from any charges.

[Justice matters.]

28. There must be a time limit for her to abide to or...

if not (it should), and if she keeps dragging her feet to no end, can the DOJ sue her for deliberately delaying the case (civil)?

[getagrip_already]

32. I don't think you can sue a judge for the execution of her duties...

There is privilege there. Just like you can't sue the potus for the duties of their job, or a congress critter for the execution of their roles.

But I suppose they could petition the court for a ruling, and then appeal it to a higher court saying it is obstructing justice t not have a ruling which itself can be appealed.

But it would be a very long process. Just a guess though.

[Justice matters.]

34. Ok, thanks.

I also thought it would be like the DOJ suing the DOJ which doesn't make sense.

This country's justice system is weird (sometimes).

[EndlessWire]

24. There is so much confusion

over the issue of "Executive Privilege." I'm in the camp of "He doesn't have any." Wall consulted with (I can't remember the name of the Department,) who advised her that it doesn't apply. (You can find it in the May 10th letter.) Other experts have said that he doesn't have EP.
The DOJ says that it doesn't apply. Yet, they have muddied the waters by insisting that he still has it. Apparently, there may be some extremely limited circumstance that still doesn't apply. Justice has stated that it has to do with them not being able to claim it against themselves.

But, Trump is getting high mileage out of attorney-client privilege, which DOJ admits is present for some of the papers. They frequently are substituting this in place of EP but claiming it's really EP.

It's very confusing.

[Farmer-Rick]

11. Yeah, he has already sold it to the enemies of the US

Who can get the most advantage from it.

And if he releases the secrets to the foreign news media now, it suddenly makes that secret Not so valuable. I'm sure the Saudis, Noth Korea and Putin won't appreciate the fact he gives away the info they had to pay Kushner for. So then he has several nations after his head.

The news corporations can still be held liable for assisting in the distribution of classified information too. If they publish the info here in the US, they can be added to the list of traitors for prosecution. I'm sure they don't want to flee the US and join Snowden in Russia...or maybe they do. The entire corporation and the owners could be banned from the US. Garland won't be as gentle with them as he is with Trump.

[33taw]

12. Ensure that people vulnerable to any disclosures are safe and hold him without bail until trial.

[louis-t]

15. He hired Doogie Howser to be his attorney?

[bluestarone]

17. Prison NOW

No visitors no internet no phone NO CONTACT with anybody! He's earned this!

[Texin]

19. That is a stupid article in Raw Story. If he tries that it will prove the prosecution's case.

And to top it off, he'd be held in contempt of court and would probably be escorted - in handcuffs - by the FBI and arrested on the spot for treason. The very idea that a man would spill top secret information as leverage in a court of law that would be prosecuting him for the very thing he threatens is ludicrous. But he's such a jabbering shitgibbon, it wouldn't surprise me.

[getagrip_already]

25. I think they are saying that his lawyers could put the prosecution in a bind....

By not releasing highly classified docs into evidence, that will hamper the ability of the doj to prosecute the case.

"You are trying to prosecute me for something you won't produce for cross examination, therefore....".

That is where greymail comes from. It's a catch 22 that could help a defendent.

But there are low level docs there as well, classified confidential. That material isn't dangerous, but could have information the gov't doesn't want public (like personnel records - could be stroch records for example). It wouldn't be the end of the world to use it, but could have privacy implications to an innocent third party. Those details could be redacted though.

[KS Toronado]

26. It's how people act with an IQ of 4.5

[PortTack]

27. Exactly...besides how's he going to set that up? By phone, email..it's laughable

[aggiesal]

29. This is what happens when you corner a rat ...

Pendejo45 never deserved to be pResident, but go ahead, I'd like to see him lose a 3rd time.

[myohmy2]

30. "Trump may threaten to reveal state secrets..."

...if he does then he should be tried for treason and if found guilty, executed...

...just like any other traitor...

...

[HariSeldon]

38. If what he revealed put people's lives in danger...

If what he revealed (or was about to) put people's lives in danger, could the FBI legitimately use a marksman to stop him, under the reasoning of imminent danger to another person's life?

[KPN]

51. Oh heck, why not just let him fall out an open window?

[KPN]

57. Oh heck, why not just let him fall out an open window?

[gopiscrap]

48. totally agree

[Submariner]

31. Can't this loser just please do a Ray Liotta and leave us in peace

[IronLionZion]

33. Then add more charges and lock him up

[NoMoreRepugs]

35. "Please proceed SlobFather" - this defense if true will seal the fate of Rethugs for a generation.

[thenelm1]

37. Isn't that what solitary confinement is for?? n/t

[Warpy]

40. I'm not worried now

Last edited Fri Sep 2, 2022, 11:56 AM - Edit history (1)

even though it's most likely that he's retained some material and the only way to deal with it is burn Mara Lardo down to the sand, something we don't do.

If he tries to tell enemy powers what he read in the potentially damaging stuff, it will be garbled. He confabulates to fill in the gaps in his understanding and those are big gaps to fill.

IOW, we're a hell of a lot safer than we were 4 weeks ago.

ETA: The list has been released, and now we need to know what happened to the documents that were in those empty classified folders. Those are likely the ones that netted Kushner his $2.5 billion payday, but we'll never know for certain.

[Fiendish Thingy]

42. You can't leak secrets from prison. Nt

[LaMouffette]

45. "Harry-Inept the Spy" needs to be arrested NOW and placed in solitary confinement.

Solitary confinement would be the most effective punishment for a sociopathic narcissist who lives for public adulation and self-aggrandizement. Take away his "oxygen" by putting him in solitary all alone with just his deranged mind to entertain himself with.

[gopiscrap]

46. I am totally against the death penalty but this is one time

where it would be appropriate to save to the nation

[Bayard]

47. How do we classify, "enemies?"

I thought, to be charged with treason, a person had to be giving secrets to a country we were actively at war with? For instance, Saudi Arabia has no doubt been the recipient of some of the classified material, either from Kushner or trump himself. We don't like them, but we're still doing business with them.

The Constitution says:

Article III, Section 3, Clause 1: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

[C_U_L8R]

49. That's why traitors are often executed.

[Jakes Progress]

50. Preposterous

Why would they need to make the documents public. He stole what wasn't his. That is theft. They don't have to prove that the documents were worthy of their security designation. The designation was already there. The judge, the jury, the court doesn't get to decide if a document is top secret. The fact that is was marked as such is all it takes.

If I steal you phone and go to court. Is the court required to make public all of your emails and internet searches?

He stole top secret documents and tried to hide the fact. Hell, do him like another crook, Al Capone. Get him on tax evasion.

[hadEnuf]

52. If he publicly reveals American secrets then I would assume he could be immediately arrested,

jailed and charged with spying & treason. There would be no question.

Illegally taking top secret US Government documents and then releasing them to the public, including enemies of the United States, would be about the best case of spying and treason I can think of. Rosenberg level stuff.

[Mz Pip]

54. May have?

Speculation won’t get us anywhere. We need evidence that Trump did this. Maybe the empty folders will be enough to merit a search warrant for missing materials.

[Liberty Belle]

55. Treatening to release secrets is blackmail, a crime; releasing them is treason.

If he does either of those, he will make prosecutors' jobs much easier.

[Orrex]

56. Jail him incommunicado immediately

[PSPS]

58. "The U.S. doesn't negotiate with terrorists" -- unless it's a trump judge

[Omaha Steve]

59. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING

Anticipatory analysis.

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